Tommijean worked as a psychologist in her own practice and was a professional dancer in her youth. Thomas, 82, worked in computer science for 40 years.
Now Thomas just wants Tommijean, 79, to stay with him at home.
After this particularly bad fall, he was told that it might be time to begin the terminal care examination. He contacted the Casa de la Luz hospice, but it turned out she didn’t need a hospice. However, she needed palliative care to meet her medical and cognitive challenges.
Soon Koon and a social worker named Laura Aylmer began visiting Thomas’s house through Casa de la Luz. They still care about the couple, but it is now through ElderHealth that the couple joined in April. Last week, Doctor Self made her first house call to their home.
As a palliative social worker, Aylmer helps Thomas by providing support and helping him find all the information and options related to caring for his wife. Her education, she says, taught her how to “hold space” in difficult times or how to keep a loved one at home.
“The focus of everything is that I am present, attentive, compassionate, and interested in who the person and family in front of me is,” said Alymer. After familiarizing herself with their stories and what is important to them, she helps create a “care plan that improves the quality of life and conveys well-being as much as possible down a difficult path”.
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